Govt to spend Rs 2 lakh crore on Maharashtra road projects

A total of Rs 2 lakh crore will be spent on expanding as well as building new roads in Maharashtra in the next five years, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said. Gadkari performed the ground-breaking ceremony for the four-laning of Kashedi-Parshuram Ghat section of the NH-66 near Hatkhamba junction. ´We not merely announce road projects but also see to it that they get completed within the stipulated period of time. We are going to complete all the road widening projects in the next two years,´he said. The four-laning of the entire Mumbai-Goa highway would cost about Rs 3,570 crore. Gadkari said that besides development of roads, water transport will be promoted in Konkan and Goa.´The current truck container traffic on the Mumbai-Goa highway should be converted into water transport. In the near future, container and shipping transport will be started on Konkan coatal line,´ the minister said.